Reagan and Bush Sr.

Reagan and Bush Sr. 1981-1993

Ronald Reagan • Represented the New Right Coalition: • new group of conservatives with new ideas of the role of government in foreign and domestic issues • Involved the revival of the Republican Party due to the fall of the Democratic Party (Vietnam and troubled economy) • Criticized big government, high taxes and communism • Lived through an assassination attempt • Appointed the first female justice to the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor

Reagan and the Economy (Reaganomics) • Used supply-side economics that relies on the belief that if taxes are reduced, people will work more and have more money to spend causing the economy to grow, then the government can collect more in taxes (sales not income) • Economic Recovery Act reduced taxes by 25% with the wealthy receiving the largest tax cut so they could take the money they saved to invest in new businesses which would help everyone (trickle-down economics) • Also called for deregulation in which the government removes its control over industries, specifically airlines • Still ran a deficit and debt • Soon the economy recovered from the recession

Reagan and the Cold War • His plan was to weaken communism by challenging it as much as possible without provoking a military battle…ultimately just outspend the Soviets • Bring down smaller communists nations • Aid anticommunists rebellions • Built up the military by developing new nuclear missiles…out produce Soviet’s • Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars): a plan that would set up ground based and space-based lasers that would destroy any missiles aimed at the US before they could reach their targets…big blow to Soviet confidence and dominance

Change in the Soviet Union • Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR and brought new ideas and better relations with the US and Reagan • Knew he could not keep up with Reagan's military spending • Signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force Treaty which banned the launch of nuclear ballistic missiles • Signed the START I Treaty in which both nations agreed to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world • Eventually communism fell in the Soviet Union, the Berlin Wall fell, Germany was reunited again…communism was over and so was the Cold War

Trouble in the Middle East • Reagan sent troops to Lebanon in an attempt to bring peace to the nations civil war • Many Marines killed and finally withdraw • Problems in Mid-East are complex and on-going • Iran-Contra Affair: US sends weapons to Iran if they pressured terrorists in Lebanon…used the money to fund Contras (anticommunists counterrevolutionaries) in Nicaragua even though it had been banned

The Challenger Disaster • The space shuttle the Challenger broke away in an explosion 73 seconds after take off, killing all 7 crew members (including the first teacher into space) • Americans watched in shock as the shuttle disintegrated into the Atlantic Ocean

Bush Sr. in Office • Had promised not to raise taxes but had to raise taxes in an attempt to balance the budget due to the deficit that Reagan had created under Reaganomics • Americas role as world leader could not last if she was running a large deficit • Signed the Americans with Disabilities Act which protected the disabled from discrimination • Appointed 2nd African American to Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas (to replace Thurgood Marshall)- huge sexual harassment investigation

Bush Sr. and Foreign Policy • Tiananmen Square: prodemocracy Chinese students stage protests so Chinese tanks rolled in and killed hundreds of protestors…condemned by Bush but we still continued to trade with China • Nelson Mandela who had been in prison for leading an antiapartheid movement, America supported his democratic efforts and he later became the elected leader for South Africans when he was released

Persian Gulf War • Iraq under dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait to control their oil deposits…America and the United Nations will not tolerate his aggressions…US worried that he would set his sights on Saudi Arabia next to control more oil…US sends troops • Operation Desert Storm: America attacked Iraqi forces devised and executed by General Colin Powell with air attacks eventually getting into Kuwait with an Iraqi surrender • Hussein left in power

Reagan and Bush Sr.